Investments

Barclays projects that consumers will continue to drive U.S. economy. S&P targets high-yielding dividend funds. BlackRock forecasts slower, but steady growth in China.

With unemployment rates remaining staggeringly high and debates about the debt ceiling on Capitol Hill, Americans remain worried about the economy, according to a report from First Command.

Now that Standard & Poor's has issued a negative credit watch on U.S. government debt and acknowledged the possibility that no deal will be reached to raise the government’s debt ceiling, what should investors do?

Lawrence Summers, former director of the National Economic Council, recently said, "The central irony of a financial crisis is that while it is caused by too much confidence, borrowing, lending and spending-it is resolved only by increases in confidence, borrowing, lending and spending."

There is a new dynamic today between hedge funds, investors and hedge fund administrators, according to State Street Corp.’s new Vision Report, “Hedge Funds: Rebuilding on a New Foundation.”

Kinetic Concepts (NYSE: KCI) this week announced it has agreed to go private for $68.50 a share with private investors share include Apax Partners, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board.

There is a new dynamic today between hedge funds, investors and hedge fund administrators, according to State Street Corp.’s new Vision Report, “Hedge Funds: Rebuilding on a New Foundation.”

Eighty-seven percent of Americans with $500,000 or more in investable assets agree that the size of the U.S. government deficit is a major concern, a survey by research firm TNS found.

Charles Schwab is a bit late to the party with its new U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF -- but the company may use its brokerage platform to help even the playing field.

For years, PIMCO’s taxable bond Total Return Fund (PTTRX) has been a top-performer in its class, with five-star ratings from both Morningstar and S&P, five-year annualized trailing returns of 8.9%, and a manager, William Gross, widely respected as among one of the top in industry.

Assets in exchange-traded funds in the U.S. will double to $2 trillion by 2015, according to a new report from BNY Mellon and Strategic Insight. Non-traditional investment strategies, which currently comprise 30% of ETF assets, will drive most of this growth, the two companies said.

ProShares has launched the ProShares Hedge Replication ETF, benchmarked against Merrill Lynch’s hedge fund replication model.

Charles Schwab is a bit late to the party with its new U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF -- but the company may use its brokerage platform to help even the playing field.

ProShares has launched the ProShares Hedge Replication ETF, benchmarked against Merrill Lynch’s hedge fund replication model.

For years, PIMCO’s taxable bond Total Return Fund (PTTRX) has been a top-performer in its class, with five-star ratings from both Morningstar and S&P, five-year annualized trailing returns of 8.9%, and a manager, William Gross, widely respected as among one of the top in industry.

Van Eck Global has launched the Market Vectors CEF Municipal Income ETF (ticker: XMPT), which it says is the first exchange-traded fund to focus on closed-end municipal bond funds.

Lincoln Trust Company has introduced the Personalized Expense Ratio for the 401(k) plans that it administers. The ratio is designed for participants, plan sponsors and advisers to see the actual cost of their plans without having to perform calculations themselves.

Home sales and housing starts began turning up in early 2009, according to the State of the Nation’s Housing report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. First-time buyers and government help drove an increase in existing home sales, while record foreclosures continued.

As their companies shift from recovery to growth, chief financial officers are becoming increasingly concerned about the external and internal factors that could threaten their progress.

IndexIQ, the Rye Brook, N.Y., developer of index-based commodity and liquid alternative investment products, this week unveiled a new exchange-traded fund designed for investors looking for even more exposure to emerging markets.